Indonesian pilot fired after slurred cockpit announcement

JAKARTA (AFP) - An Indonesian pilot who stumbled through airport security and repeatedly dropped his belongings before making a slurred announcement to his 154 passengers from the cockpit has been fired, officials said on Saturday (Dec 31). The CEO of budget airline Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, had also offered his resignation to take responsibility for the incident. YouTube footage showed 32-year-old pilot Tekad Purna staggering through a metal detector at airport security and dropping his bag and belongings several times after arriving late for his flight on Wednesday from the city of Surabaya to the capital Jakarta. After hearing a garbled and slurred announcement from the cockpit, scared passengers reported the pilot, accusing him of being drunk or on drugs. The flight took off later with a new pilot but several of the passengers de...